D
Deleted member
Guest
~The Ice Climbers~
Reintroduced in Project: M 3.0, the two mountain top trouble makers return to the fray! Though the pair no longer has crazy chain grab infinites or wobbling, the two are still a viable character. In this thread I'm going to briefly touch on the key elements of the Icies and help new players get started playing them.
.png)
Desyncs -
This is the Ice Climber's big gimmick of their design, in the same sense as Ness' PK Fire or Fox's Shine. It's their defining trait. The best thing about The Ice Climber's desync in Project: M is that you can desync them not only the same way you could in Melee but you can desync them using Brawl methods as well. Desyncing is simply making Popo and Nana do attacks at different times.
Sopo -
Sopo (or Sonana, depending on which costume you are using) is more viable in Project: M than in any other game the Icies have been in. His Squall Hammer (Side+B) has a little bit of height added onto it, but it's still extremely low. Using Squall Hammer as a recovery move is more or less viable.
ProTip: When selecting Ice Climbers, hold L or R on the character selection screen until the match starts. Keep holding L or R as you select a stage and you can release it once the match starts. You will start with Sopo and no Nana. This is good for practicing Sopo combos, which you are going to want to do.
ProTip: If Nana is grabbed, you can still fight with Sopo! Run up with him and do an attack to free Nana from the evil clutches of your rival!
ProTip: Popo's Down-throw can chaingrab and you can get multiple downthrows on lots of characters.
Nana -
Nana is your very own CPU controlled companion that you can control when she is close to you. Though in Project: M she makes an effort to recover by herself, always assume she is stupid. When your opponent doesn't, 99% of the time she'll kill herself.
Resyncing Nana to Popo when she is offstage is difficult. If she is a ways out there, totally away from the stage, let her die as you'll meet with the terrible fate by getting gimped by your opponent if you attempt to save her.
If Nana is not in hitstun, a helpless state, or has gotten hit you can use your Up+B to teleport her back to Popo. Remember, this will activate their recovery move and send the two into special fall. Use this trick SPARINGLY.
ProTip: If Popo is grabbed and Nana is nearby, use a Down Smash to get your opponent to let go of him! Remember that if Popo is busy and Nana is near she can still kinda move around, and vice vera.
ProTip: If you get a grab with Popo, you can do an action with Nana. You can do a Jump or Smash attack, but I like to use a Blizzard (Down+B).
ProTip: Nana’s reaction time to Popo’s (the two Ice Climbers) movements and actions are exactly 6 frames after Popo, or 0.1 or 1/10 of a second.
Stage Control -
The Ice Climbers have excellent stage control, but not-so-great air control. Icies excel in their horizontal movement, so use it to your advantage as much as possible. Ice Climbers behind Luigi have the best Wavedash in the game, so use Wavedashes and Wavelands frequently.
ProTip: To Wave Dash, Short Hop (Tap the X or Y button on your controller) then Air Dodge (L or R) diagonally into the ground. You'll slide a bit. The closer you are to the ground when you air dodge, the farther you'll go. You can also do the same thing when getting onto a platform. Doing this is called a Waveland.
ProTip: You're going to want to practice your movement a lot as the Ice Climbers.
On-Stage Edgeguarding (YES) -
Ice Climbers have fantastic on-stage edgeguarding skills, but they do take a little bit of time to get used to. Like characters such as Jigglypuff, some of their smashes have a bit of a delay before the hitbox of the move comes out. Learn this delay!
Off-Stage Edgeguarding (NO) -
The Ice Climber's only good offstage move is their Forward Air, but it's hitboxes are odd and if missed you'll always get gimped. The way their forward air works is somewhat like this:
(This is a tad hard to explain so let me do the best I can)
This is a Free Body Diagram of a Centripetal Motion. Imagine the Ice Climbers are at the Center of Rotation. When you use a forward air, they take out their hammers around the 3' o'clock mark. (look at a clock if you don't know what I mean) As they swing their hammer, the hitbox's trajectory changes. Look at the Path of Inertia. If the Hitbox of the Hammer hit while the hammer was up above Popo/Nana's head (So the hammer would be at the purple dot), the opponent hit would go straight forward. If the hammer hits the opponent near the end of the animation around the 10' o'clock mark, they would go down since the Path of inertia line is adjacent to the path of the Hammer. If the hammer hits the opponent near the start of the animation around the 2' o'clock mark, they would go up since the Path of inertia line is adjacent to the path of the Hammer.
Just try to not jump off the stage to get confirmed kills. Only do it if you are certain it's safe and you have Nana alongside you.
ProTip: Don't be greedy - Be patient!
Smash Attacks -
The Ice Climbers have some very nice Smash Attacks that deal a nice amount of precent and a great deal of knockback on impact. Here's what they can do and when you can should them:
Up Smash: Icicle Crasher: 11% Uncharged, 15% Charged.
Small Hitbox sadly but packs a lot of punch. Great kill move against floaty characters (Jigglypuff, Kirby). Don't use it against spacies/fast fallers. (Fox, Falco, Wolf)
Down Smash: Hammer Sweep: 12% Uncharged, 16% Charged.
Nice hitbox and comes out pretty fast. This can be used as a counter to an approach.
ProTip: If your opponent Crouch Cancels this at a high perfect, they will be sent flying left or right depending on which side of the smash hit them and will most likely not recover.
Forward Smash: Hammer Smash: 14% Uncharged, 19% Charged.
Great finisher, and fantastic for edgeguarding.
ProTip: Try buffering this move with Nana after you get a grab with Popo!
Recovery -
The Ice Climbers have a good - but odd - recovery. Here's your two options:
Up+B and Side+B.
Side+B is a move called Squall Hammer, where the Icies swing their hammers around. When using Squall Hammer (Side+B), mash the B-Button on your controller for extra height. This is very important to do!
If Nana is near you and is 'gravitating' toward you, this means she is synced with you. If you are synced and need to recover, mash Squall Hammer (Side+B) a lot and you'll gain an absurd amount of height with the two climbers together. If she is not near you or is not gravitating towards you when you do Side+B the two climbers will seem do Squall Hammer disconnected, and barely get any height at all.
Up+B is a move called Belay where the leading Ice Climber throws the following Climber with a rope. The following Ice Climber then pulls the leader upwards and if there is a nearby edge, the following Climber will target it which will lead to a safe recovery for both Climbers. If there is only one Climber, the Climber will get a small hop, then fall into a helplessness state!
ProTip: You can not sweetspot the ledge with Squall Hammer (Side+B), and it's easy for your opponent to edgeguard, even though it has a repeating hitbox on it!
ProTip: When using Squall Hammer (Side+B), mash the B-Button on your controller for extra height!!
ProTip: Only use Up+B if Nana is with you or if You are super close to the ledge. If you perform an Up+B, Sopo will only do a short hop in the air and usually fall to his death.
I hope this guide has helped you all take a chance with the Ice Climbers in Project: M and I wish you all the best. If you have any feedback or any questions, do post below and I'll do my best to respond to them. You can always hit me up in the Ice Climbers Skype Room, too.
Last edited by a moderator:
